Individual Differences in EEG Spectral Power Reflect Genetic Variance in Gray and White Matter Volumes

D.J.A. Smit, D.I. Boomsma, H.G. Schnack, H.E. Hulshoff Pol, E.J.C. de Geus

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The human electroencephalogram (EEG) consists of oscillations that reflect the summation of postsynaptic potentials at the dendritic tree of cortical neurons. The strength of the oscillations (EEG power) is a highly genetic trait that has been related to individual differences in many phenotypes, including intelligence and liability for psychopathology. Here, we investigated whether brain anatomy underlies these EEG power differences by correlating it to gray and white matter volumes (GMV, WMV), and additionally investigated whether this association can be attributed to genes or environmental factors. EEG was measured in a sample of 405 young adult twins and their siblings, and power in the theta (∼4 Hz), alpha (∼10 Hz), and beta (∼20 Hz) frequency bands determined. A subset of 121 subjects were also scanned in a 1.5 T MRI scanner, and gray and white matter volumes defined as the total of cortical and subcortical volumes, excluding cerebellum. Both MRI-based volumes and EEG power spectra were highly heritable. GMV and WMV correlated .25 to .29 with EEG power for the slower oscillations (theta, alpha). Moreover, these phenotypic correlations largely reflected genetic covariation, irrespective of oscillation frequency and volume type. Genetic correlations (.31 < r
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)384-392
JournalTwin Research and Human Genetics
Volume15
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

Cohort Studies

  • Netherlands Twin Register (NTR)

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